Gold Nuggets win their 2nd GCAC outdoor championship

Catherine Fakler

NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier University of Louisiana's Catherine Fakler, Devinn Rolland and Hannah Finnegan combined for 100 points Saturday to lead the Gold Nuggets to the women's team title in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Tad Gormley Stadium.

It's the second team championship in three years for the Gold Nuggets, who won 8-of-19 events and outscored runner-up Edward Waters 184-175.

Edward Waters, led by freshman Kendal Thompson's three victories in throwing events, repeated as men's champion with 212 points. Dillard was second with 188.


Devinn Rolland

Fakler and Rolland, both sophomores, won three events each. Fakler won the 1,500- and 5,000-meter runs -- she repeated as 1,500 champion -- and set a meet record of 12 minutes, 20.90 seconds in the 3,000 steeplechase. She also placed second in the 800 and ran the anchor leg of the Nuggets' runner-up 3,200 relay team. Fakler finished with a meet-high 40  .

Rolland scored 34 points and repeated as champion of the 100, 200 and long jump. She reached A-qualifying standards for the NAIA National Championships in all three events and on the runner-up 400 relay team with Chelsea James, Chartia Hurt and SiMon Franklin. Rolland long-jumped 18 feet, 9¼ inches to break her meet record, and she ran the opening leg of the runner-up 1,600 relay team, which also included Tramaine Shannon, Hurt and Franklin.

Finnegan, a freshman, didn't win an event but placed second in the 1,500, 5,000 and steeplechase and ran the opening leg of the 3,200 relay to score 26 points. Hali Yarmush and Donyé Coleman also competed on the relay.

Franklin won the 400 in 56.74 and met the NAIA'a A-qualifying standard, and teammate Angelica Alexander hit four of her first five attempts to outlast Dillard's Jonquil Griffin and Edward Waters' Breana Levine and win the high jump at 5-1¾.

Xavier was fourth in the men's scoring with 53 points. Winning for the Gold Rush were Kwame Jackson in the 1,500 and 5,000 -- he repeated as 5,000 champion -- and David Holobowicz with a meet-record 10:39.89 in the steeplechase.

Coach Joseph Moses — on the left side of the back row — and some of his Xavier track and field athletes posed for a team photo February 14 outside the new Convocation Center. Front row, from left: Chelsea James, Chartia Hurt, Tayler Louis, Devinn Rolland, Tramaine Shannon, Zahri Jackson and Hannah Finnegan. Back row, from left: Moses, Kwame Jackson, Briana Simms, Christopher Kennie, Catherine Fakler and David Holobowicz.

Earning runner-up finishes for Xavier were Holobowicz in the 1,500, Christopher Kennie in the men's high jump and long jump and Paige Gauthier in the women's shot put.

The top three finishers in each event were designated All-GCAC. The Nuggets had four third-place performers: James in the women's 100, Coleman in the 5,000, Chelsea Broussard in the triple jump and Loryn Darthard in the discus.

Double winners in the women's division included Lynetta Cook of Edward Waters as a repeat champion in the discus and hammer and SUNO's Adriana Brown with meet-record and NAIA A-qualifying times in the 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles.

Edward Waters won nine men's events, including Ralphael Shuler in the 100 and 200. SUNO's Warith Fennoy won the men's long and triple jumps. Dillard's Jevonte Ezzard won the 400 and was the men's high scorer with 32½ points.

The Nuggets' victory is the latest in an eight-year run in which Xavier has won 44 GCAC and NAIA unaffiliated group team championships. It was the 16th team title for coach Joseph Moses, whose men's and women's cross country teams won seven consecutive titles apiece from 2006-12. XU's top-10 tennis teams will attempt to add to the championship total next week in an unaffiliated group qualifying tournament at Jonesboro, Ga.

Results (PDF file)

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS